Chapter 82 – Vow-Power Heart Lamp Reaches the Third Realm: Powerful Dominion

The scorching flames melted away the deathly gray within Mu Lin’s Divine Soul.

Although this blaze lasted only a moment before rapidly shrinking, it still added a touch of warmth to Mu Lin’s Mindscape.

Without a doubt, this flame was the Vow-Power Heart Lamp—or rather, the Arrogance Heart Lamp.

While Mu Lin was calming his breath, his Cultivation Method’s progress had advanced from second-level proficiency to third-level Expert.

Upon confirming this, Mu Lin felt no joy; instead, a chill ran down his spine.

“Why!”

“Could it be that I’ve been tainted by Forbidden Power?”

It was no wonder Mu Lin was so alarmed. In this world where Evil Spirits lurked everywhere and Forbidden Power ran rampant, an inexplicable, sudden increase in strength was far from a good sign.

Adding to the danger was the fact that Mu Lin was a true-intent painter.

During the Xiaohuo Lantern chaos, that true-intent painter had also experienced a leap in strength after contemplating the Ancient Underworld Fire Prison—though the price was madness.

Fortunately, Mu Lin had not descended into madness.

“My mind is perfectly clear… Wait, no—madmen also believe their minds are clear.”

Closing his eyes, Mu Lin looked directly into his own heart to see if any mad thoughts lurked within.

What he found was that he felt his current life was good. He harbored no desire to take revenge on society, nor any urge to cause destruction…

“So, I’m fine.”

“But why did my Arrogance Heart Lamp advance for no reason? I’ve been slowing down my Divine Soul cultivation these past few days.”

At this moment, Mu Lin was utterly perplexed. Fortunately, he wouldn’t be troubled for long.

Once the advancement was complete, the Arrogance Heart Lamp merged with Mu Lin’s Divine Soul and transmitted a stream of information.

Then, he understood why his Arrogance Heart Lamp had suddenly advanced.

However, the reason left Mu Lin with a complicated expression.

“The reason the Arrogance Heart Lamp advanced… was actually because of arrogance?”

Yes, the advancement of the Arrogance Heart Lamp was not without cause. During this period, it had absorbed the arrogance that had arisen in Mu Lin’s heart—and this arrogance was profound, which led to its sudden advancement.

“But when was I ever arrogant…”

Halfway through his sentence, Mu Lin suddenly realized.

After learning that the Dao Palace would hold an assessment, Mu Lin hadn’t spared a single thought for others. His entire being was focused on cultivation, firmly believing that with the Moonlight Jade Dew, as long as he followed the steps diligently, he would inevitably claim first place.

He hadn’t even considered filling out his team, nor had the thought that a two-versus-five match was unfair ever crossed his mind.

This attitude of disregarding everything—”I am invincible, do as you please”—wasn’t that arrogance?

Of course, some might call it confidence.

But confidence and arrogance are two sides of the same coin.

“My Heart Lamp could indeed be renamed the Confidence Heart Lamp, or the Conviction Heart Lamp… But never mind. Overconfidence is arrogance. Keeping ‘arrogance’ in its name can serve as a warning to me.”

After understanding the reason for his advancement, Mu Lin felt both amused and exasperated.

What left him unsure how to feel was that the advancement of the Arrogance Heart Lamp had also spurred the growth of his Divine Soul.

At this moment, his Divine Soul Realm had reached the peak of the Spirit Pool, just one step away from advancing to the Spirit Sea.

“My Divine Soul is improving too quickly.”

Mu Lin’s sigh did not last long.

After all, the advancement of the Divine Soul was not entirely negative—or rather, when not touching upon taboos or shared sensations, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

Especially after the Arrogance Heart Lamp advanced, the Divine Soul had gained power.

【Vow-Power Heart Lamp, 3rd Realm Expert (1/88000), Traits: Domination, Transcendence】

After advancing, the Vow-Power Heart Lamp gained a new trait—Transcendence.

This trait also stemmed from Mu Lin’s current beliefs.

After obtaining the Proficiency Panel, Mu Lin’s mindset had shifted somewhat. He firmly believed that as long as he followed a step-by-step path of diligent cultivation, he could surpass everyone else.

Because of this, he remained indifferent to many things, or simply didn’t care.

This detached, transcendent attitude granted him the Transcendence trait.

Its specific manifestation was that this transcendent mindset allowed Mu Lin to remain unaffected by certain influences.

For example, the oppressive aura of powerful beings or the encroachment of Anomalies’ power—Mu Lin could burn the Arrogance Heart Lamp to elevate his Divine Soul to a state of “transcendence beyond the mundane,” isolating himself from these influences.

“Isolating the effects of Anomalies’ power—isn’t this exactly what I need the most… Indeed, the Arrogance Heart Lamp is ignited by my own thoughts, so the traits it derives naturally align with my greatest needs.”

Of course, the ability to derive the abilities he needed most was also related to the profound nature of the Vow-Power Heart Lamp and the high quality of the beliefs he had infused into it.

“Vow-power, vow-power, wishes, prayers… The traits of the Earth Grade Supreme Cultivation Method, Vow-Power Heart Lamp, truly carry a hint of wish-fulfillment.”

At this point, Mu Lin felt a trace of admiration for Dongfang Ya.

“Looking back now, Teacher Dongfang Ya may be petite, but her abilities are truly extraordinary, and her benevolence is unparalleled. I remember when I had just taken on the task and hadn’t produced any results yet, she was willing to help me accumulate some merit and exchange for such a precious Cultivation Method… I owe her a great favor. I hope I can repay her someday.”

The more he thought about it, the more Mu Lin felt he owed Teacher Dongfang Ya. However, repayment was a matter for the future. What concerned Mu Lin more at the moment was the Arrogance Heart Lamp.

Transcendence elevated Mu Lin’s status, allowing him to remain unaffected by many influences.

Meanwhile, the Domination trait had also gained some enhancement due to the advancement of the Arrogance Heart Lamp.

Originally, the Domination trait could only manifest its power within Mu Lin’s Mindscape.

Now, however, he could release the flames of the Arrogance Heart Lamp outside his body.

These flames lacked scorching heat and could not incinerate enemies, but their trait left Mu Lin with a somewhat peculiar expression.

The trait of Domination was still domination.

Well, that statement was redundant.

Still, while the words were redundant, the ability of the Arrogance Heart Lamp was not.

Although the flames Mu Lin released could not harm others, they could dominate ownerless inanimate objects.

Everything enveloped by the arrogant flames would fall under Mu Lin’s control, moving according to his will—though not without cost. To dominate objects or make them move, Mu Lin needed to expend Divine Soul power.

This was also why he said that after the Arrogance Heart Lamp advanced again, the Divine Soul had gained power.

At the same time, Mu Lin could dominate not only inanimate objects but also enemies’ weapons and even their Mystical Arts by enveloping them with the arrogant flames and forcibly taking control.

Imagine the enemy’s flying sword striking at him, only for Mu Lin to seize control of it right before his very eyes—this is practically cuckolding him in broad daylight.

Just the thought of such a scene—it stirred excitement in Mu Lin’s heart.

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(End of Chapter)